Hydraulic dredge.



No. 632,126. Patented .29, I899.

P. KIRK.

HYDRAULIC DREDGE.

(Application filed Jan. 16, 1899.)

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No. 632,!26. Patented Aug. '29, I899; P. KIRK. HYDRAULIC D'REDGE.

Application filed Jan. 16, 1899.]

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Patented Aug. 29, I899.

(Application filed Jan. 16, 1899.)

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No. 632,!26. Patented Au 29, I899.

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iApplication filed Jan. 1a; 1599.

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U IT STATES PATENT -OFFICE.

. PETER KIRK, or KIRKLAND, WASHINGTON.

HYDRAULlCjD REDG E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Lett'erslPatent No. 632,126, dated August 2 1899.

Applicaticn filed January 16, 18 9 9. Serial No. 702,2 95. (Ne model.) 7

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it knownv that 1, PETER KIRK, of Kirk-- land, in the county of King and State. of Washington, have invented a new. and useful Improvement in Hydraulic Dredges, of.

which the following is a specification.

My invention is in the nature of a new machine designed to dredge rivers for gold-bear.

machine as a whole and of its various parts, as will be hereinafter fully described with ref-.

erence to the drawings, in which- Figure l is a side view of the entire inachine; Fig. 2, a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the center of the water-distributing box on the head of machine, showing the manner of placing holes for conveying the pressure-water through main pipe L into annular space formed between it and delivery-pipe m for the passage of pressure-water to the jet. Fig. 4:;is a half plan of thiswater-distributingbox,showingbolt-holes inv glands. Fig. 5 is a vertical elevation of the boring-head of the machine. Fig. 6 represents a view of the steel boring-head of the machine from the under side, showing cutters. Fig. '7 is a sectional plan of the main block of the machine, showing the position of water-holes connecting the annular space.

and water-jet. Fig. 8 is an elevation of the main block of machine, showing inlet-holes for material, guide-lugs for keeping steel ring in proper position, and the cam-grooves 2' in the form of segments of screws which act as sliding clutch, which when driven the right way will keep the two steel rings 1) and d firmly together, but when reversed will unscrew to the extent of one-sixth of a revoluti'on, thereby allowing the ring 13 to drop three-fourths of an inch in order to free any thing which may stick in the holes. Fig. 9 is a horizontal section through the main block, showing recessed grooves 'i and the manner of fixing clutch-blocks. Fig. 10 is a vertical section through center of lower or working'end of the machine, showing the water-jet, tapered tube and neck, also the pathway of holes by which water issupplied to the jet from the annular chamber, and the main inlet-holes for materialdrawn through by the vacuum caused. by the jet. There is also shown a ring 6, to which is attached two wipers, made of steel, to assist in clearing the holes, and a hard=steel neck-ring f to take wear andbe easily renewable. Fig. 11 is a horizontal sectional plan of the working head .of the machine through the center of receiving-holes, also showing the position of watersupply holes and the lugs to keep ring I) in place. Fig. 12 is a vertical section through the center of main pipe and ratchet-clutch, showing feathers on the outside of pipe for turning the machine, also oscillating plates for carrying pawls for the clutch. Fig. 13 is an elevation of the ratchet-clutch and baseplate. Fig. 14 is a plan of the ratchet-clutch, showing arrangement of double pawl for working and-reversing.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2,in which myinfvention is shown applied to a boat, the nuan arm 6, braced by tie-rod 8 and upright 10 and guided up and down on the mast by friction-rollers 9 and 11, located 011 opposite sides of the mast at the top of the upright 10 and on the under side of the arm 6, respectively. This-arm 6 is raised and lowered by a rope r passing overa pnlleyr at the top of the mast and thence" extends down to a drum r operated bya hoisting-engine m. In a stationary elevated position on the boat is mounted on suitable supports a sluiceway 4 for conveying the gravel, sand, and water to any desired point, and into it empties a semicircular box 3,'mounted on uprights 7 7 on the lower horizontal arm 1 and moving in a rotary manner with this arm and the mast. Sustained upon the outer end of the upper horizontal arm 6 is the vertical hydraulic dredging pipe L. This pipe slides freely through a bearing in the outer end of the lower arm 1 and has mounted on its upper end a receiving-cylin der g, from which the sand and water are dis charged through two pipes s 3 into the box 3.

To permit these pipes to swivel or turn in the cylinder g as the latter is raised and lowered in accommodating the changed angular relation of the pipes 8, these pipes have elbows and a swiveling collar or sleeve connection with the said cylinder. At the upper end of the hydraulic pipe L there is an inlet-head a for introducing the pressure water. This head connects with a supply-pipe 76 7c, leading to the steam force-pumpj, and one section 7c of this pipe is a flexible hose to accommodate the vertical movement of the arm 6 and. pipe L. On the outer end of the lower arm 1 there is a ratchet mechanism h, operated by a steam-cylinder y. This supplies the means for imparting the rotary boring action to the main pipe L, which carries a ho ringhead at its lower end. This ratchet mechanism is shown in detail in Figs. 12, 13, and 14, in which L is the outer tube of the hydraulic pipe, which has external longitudinal feathers Z running its entire length and fitting in grooves in the ratchet-rin g 7t. This ratchetring rotates between plates 77/ h and may be rotated in either direction bya double-acting pawl 72 attached to oscillating plates 71, it", operated bya rod 72 leading to the engine y. WVhen this ratchet-ring h isrotated by a stepby-step movement, it will be seen that through the agency of the feathers on the pipe L it rotates the latter and also the boring-head below, and yet the pipe L may move freely in vertical direction through the said ratchetcollar. The double-acting pawl 71 has two prongs and has an adjustment about its fulcrum,so as to bring either one of these prongs into engagement with the ratchet ring it. When one prong is engaged with the ratchetring, as shown in full lines in Fig. 14, and the plates 714 are oscillated, the ratchet-ring h and tube L are turned in one direction, and when the other prong is thrown into engagement with the ratchet-ring, as shown in dotted lines, and the plates 7L4 are oscillated the ratchetring and tube L are turned in the other direction.

Referring now to Figs. 3 to 14, illustrating in detail the hydraulic pipe and boring devices, a, Fig. 3 is the inlet-head for the pressure water.

ter-inlet pipe 7t and surrounds the upper end of the main vertical pipe L, which has a series of holes opening into the annular space of head a. Through this head there passes centrally within pipe L an internal tube m,which passes through a stufling-box a at the top and opens into the receiving-cylinder g, Fig. 1. Around the lower edge of the head 0t there is another stufiing-box G2, which closes the joint with the main pipe L. Water introduced into this head through pipe passes down between the pipe L and central tube m to the boring-head below, and having then performed its work rises with the sand and gravel through the center of the tube m into the receiving-cylinder g.

Referring now to Figs. 5 to 11, and more This is an annular chamber, which on one side communicates with the waespecially to Fig. 10, I will describe the boring and hydraulic dredging device. The main element in its construction is the head-block w. This has an extension w in the form of a tapered tube that connects with the inner tube m and has a flange also that connects with the lower end of the main pipe L. Just inside the pipe L the block to has com municating passage ways it, which pass down through the block and open laterally into the interior of a nozzle 10 which discharges upwardly onto an enlarged central chamber'w Alternating with the passage-ways or there are inlet-openings 19, which permit water, sand, and gravel from the outside to be drawn in and forced upwardly by the jet, passing upwardly through the nozzle 10 On the outer periphery of the block 10 there is an upper ring d and a lower ring I), through the adjacent edges of which are formed openings p,

registering with the inlet-openings p in the block 10. The upper halves of openings 19 are formed in ring cl and the lower half in the ring Z), which is independently movable, being arranged to drop down to increase the size of the holes 10, as hereinafter described. On the outside of block w (see Figs. 8 and 9) are formed cam-grooves it, in which rest clutchblocks 2, connected by screw-stems to the terminal boring-cap o. This boring-cap is of conical shape and has a series of radial cutting-flanges for boring and cutting into the sand and grayel at the bottom of the river. WVhen the boring-cap is turned one way, its clutch-blocks i, resting in the higher ends of the cam-grooves t, hold the ring Z) up tightly against ring d, leaving the round holes 10 therethrough; but when the cap is turned in the other direction its blocks t pass to the lowest end of the cam-grooves t" and allow the ring I) to drop down three-fourths of an inch, and thus enlarging the holes 19 and allowing them to be relieved when clogged, as will be hereinafter described. To guide the ringb up and down it has on its inner side vertical grooves that slide over lugs 0, formed on the block 10, as shown in Figs. 8 and 11. At the upper end of the ring cl there is a loosely-turning collar 6 bearing downwardly-projecting arms e for clearing the holes 13, and inside the dischargethroat of the block to there is a detachable hard-steel bushing f to receive the wear of the gravel and be renewed when worn.

In the working of this machine the first thing necessary will be to have it anchored firmly in position over the portion of material it is desired to lift. Then by means of the hoist and crane the boring-head is lowered onto the material, and then the ratchetengine y will commence to rotate it. "WVater of the required pressure will be turned on from the pumpj along supply-pipes marked 7t it into the water-distributing box a at the top, from whence it travels through the annular space formed between the two pipes L and m down to the working head, then through the passageways n and nozzle 10 in a jet which bydisplacement causes a vacuum which sucks the material through the holes 19 into the chamber 10 whence it is forced by the water through the neck f up through the delivery-pipe m into receiving-box g on top of the arm of the crane, thence through the delivery-pipes s 5 into delivery-box 3, which rotates with the crane, and from this it is run through the sluice-boxes.

As will be readily seen by referring to Fig. 1, the machine is able to work up and down vertically for twenty-five feet and in any part of its semicircular radius without disarranging any of its parts, as the pivoted crane supports on its arms both the supply and delivery pipes, distributing-box, receiving-boX, delivery-box, and ratchetturning engine, and all swing together to any part of the radius. This enables the machine to be easily removed a little to one side in case it comes upon large rocks, &c.

Special provision hasbeen made to remove rocks or other hard material which will undoubtedly sometimes get fast in the holes p. This is done principally by the arrangement of the sliding clutch formed by blocks 25 and cam-grooves 1', (shown in Figs. 8 and 9,) and is done in this way: When the machine is Working normally and the right Way around, the boring-head is driven by the clutch in the position shown at t, Fig. 9, and the steel rings b and 0?, through which the holesp are formed, are pressed close together; but if it is desired to remove anything which has got fast in the holes it is done thus: The pump is stopped and the pawl of the reversing ratchet-clutch is turned to the other side, when the turning-engine will reverse the machine. The working head being held by its cutters in the material allows the inside block 10, Figs. 8 and 9, to turn back with the camgrooves 2' until it meets the clutch-blocks tat point marked 6 on Fig. 9, and the camgrooves, which are segments of a quick screw, in their passage from t to 75 cause a vertical drop of the head i; and ring I), Fig. 10, of three-fourths of an inch, which of course enlarges the holes p and at once relieves anything that may have become fast in the same, and the pressure-pump having been stopped the obstruction is forced back out of the hole by the backlash of the water which is in the central tube of the machine. It will be noticed also on referring to Figs. 10 and 11 that the taper holes 19 through the inner block to are larger in diameter than the corresponding holes 19' through the steel rings 19, so that anything that will go through the holes 13 in the rings will be sure to pass through the machine.

The ring e, which carries the two wiperarms 6', is free to turn around on the block, but is held in place by the channel-ring a, which is keyed on the block above it. The

act-ion of the wipers is this: When the material is drawn close around the machine, the wiper-win gs are prevented from turning with the machine, and they being stationary and the machine still revolving causes the wings to wipe or clear the holes.

The channel-ring it, above mentioned, not only keeps the wiper-ring e in place, but is also available to fix steelspring stirringteeth on for use in dredging fine material. These teeth are made curved and long and flexible enough to allow of their springing past any rock or other material too heavy to move.

Provision is made on the receiving-cylinder g for the insertion of an iron or steel bar to loosen any obstruction that might possiblyoccur at the neck of the machine by crowding of the rocks.

The special feature of this machine as compared with other suction-dredgers is the absence of valves and working parts, thereby saving the'destruction of these parts caused by the hammering of the rocks and gravel and the blocking or gagging of the valves. It also saves the destruction of all disks and blades running at high speeds, as in the centrifugal pump.

This machine carries the full power of suction and force to any depth required, while this is very limited in all other pumps, thus enabling the dredging of deep gravel that is too deep for other machines, whether of the suction or bucket-dredger type.

My invention is complete in all of the de tails and requires but little labor to operate it.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A hydraulic dredge,comprising a vertical rotary mast, two horizontal supportingarms, a vertical hydraulic pipe having inner and outer tubes, with a boring-head at its lower end, said hydraulic pipe being mounted on the upper arm and adjustable with it vertically and passing through the lower arm, a turning mechanism for the hydraulic pipe mounted on the lower arm, a receiver at the upper end of the hydraulic pipe mounted on its upper end and provided with pipes for carrying away the sand and gravel and means for raising and lowering the upper arm and hydraulic pipe and means for supplying a pressure jet of water and rotating the boringhead, substantially as shown and described.

2. A hydraulic dredge, comprising a vertical rotary mast 2 with receiving-box 3 and lower horizontal arm 1 rigidly connected together, an upper horizontal arm 6 braced and provided with hoisting mechanism as described and sliding vertically on the mast, the double-tube hydraulic pipe L mounted on the upper arm and provided with an inlet-head a for water and a supply-pipe with flexible connection, the receiving-cylinder g mounted on the upper end of the inner tube of pipe L and having swiveling dischargepipe .9, a ratchet-collar embracing the pipe L and connected to it for a rotary movement therewith, but a vertical slip movement IIO therethrough, and a boring-head with hydraulic jet-nozzle arranged on the lower end substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In a hydraulic dredge, the combination with a double-tube hydraulic pipe bearing a boring-head atits lower end, and a hydraulic jet-nozzle within it, said pipe having an external feather running longitudinally the distance of the vertical adjustment, a ratchetcollar embracing said pipe and having a groove fitting the feather, and a double-acting oscillating pawl for rotating the ratchetcollar and hydraulic pipe substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. In a hydraulic dredge having a doubletube boring-pipe, the combination with the inner and the outer tube; of an inlet-head at having an inlet-opening on one side and an annular chamber surrounding the outer tube and communicating with it, a stufling-box at the upper end fitting the inner tube, and a stuffing-box at the lower end fitting the outer tube substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. In a hydraulic boring-head, the combination with an inner and outer tube; of a head-block with central upwardly-projecting nozzle, said block being connected to the lower ends of said tubes and having two sets of passages, one set communicating with the space between the two tubes, and the receiving end of the nozzle, and the other set'alternating in position with the first set and opening from without the head laterally into the suction-chamber of the nozzle and the interior of the central tube substantially as shown and described.

6. A hydraulic boring-head having lateral inlets for the dredged material made adjustable as to size and arranged to be opened by a reversal of the boring-head to release obstruction substantially as and for the purpose described.

7. A hydraulic boring-head having lateral inlets for the dredged material, said inlets being formed partly in a stationary piece,

and partlyin a movable piece, and a loose boring-cap arranged on the head to turn, and adjust the movable piece of the inlet-opening to increase the size of the latter substantially as and for the purpose described.

8. A hydraulic boring-head having lateral inlets for the dredged material, a movable collar or ring 17 forming the lower part of said inlets and having vertical guides, a subjacent loosely-tu rnin g boring-cap it, said cap having a loose drag connection with the head-block by means of cam-grooves i and blocks 15 to raise or lower the cap and the ring I) by the rotary motion of the cap on the head-block substantially as and for the purpose described.

PETER KIRK.

\Vitnesses:

J NO. G. KELLETT, GEO. S. KIRK. 

